Two papers in support of an inclusive clergy by Shada Sullivan
These papers are written out of love for the spiritual principles of the New Church. Thanks to the second coming, these principles of love are becoming manifest in the world around us in so many beautiful ways. In my small corner, as a member of the General Church, here is my attempt to articulate a theology of balance, to make an argument for allowing women to be ordained. The first paper explores the doctrines of regeneration and marriage within the context of degrees of order, and analyzes several common doctrinal arguments against ordaining women as priests.
There is no Deficiency, Only Blessing
The second paper examines policy issues more closely, including questions of how to view the Writings and the function of the priesthood:
Examining the Policy of a male-only clergy in the General Church
Thanks for reading!
Traveling Lightly, or Putting Down the Cabbages by Rev. Leah Goodwin
In the world of transportation, of movement between places, two types of people exist: those who travel lightly, and those who fairly emphatically do not.
I make this claim as an unashamed member of the latter camp, part of that group of reluctant nomads whose tents are pitched swiftly and nests feathered thoroughly, who break camp with heavy hearts and heavier bags.
Not much mind-meeting is to be had between those who travel unencumbered and those who labor in their journeying. For the latter, travel is a process to be endured and a skill-set to be mastered.
Traveling lightly, on the other hand, is an art. It is an art, and not just an area of competence, because two quite separate aspects—the technical and the stylistic, or put another way, the strategic and the attitudinal— must come together in its successful execution. Read More
Hold Your Peace by Rev. Sarah Buteux
In Silence there is eloquence.
Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves. – Rumi
To preach or not to preach, that is the question. I am as deeply shaken as anyone by what happened on Friday down in CT. I don’t have words because the truth is there are no words. And yet I have still been wondering since Friday what to say and what to do.
I have reached out to my colleagues, to family and friends. I have wondered if the proper response was to scrap everything we had planned for today, file the sermon that was already written, and simply sit here with you in silence after the kids had gone down to Sunday school. I wondered if we could still sing last night. I wonder at how we can sing today. But the truth is that we need to keep singing and we need to keep speaking. At least that is the collective wisdom I gleaned from of those I trust. We need to keep congregating and sending our kids to school and living in the face of our fears and our grief. Read More
NewDayGoodMorning by Tirah Keal
Join Tirah Keal each morning, as she reads a psalm and reflects upon it’s meaning.
Subscribe to her daily videos here
First, an introducation to Tirah’s project:
Fear Not by Rev. Alison Longstaff
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)
This weekend, we have been exploring the Book of Revelation. We spent some time exploring the increasingly popular view among some of our fellow Christians that Revelation is a scary warning about the “end times,” and that any minute now, the rapture could happen, and any of us who signed up with the wrong club will be “left behind.”
We then left those ideas behind and explored the implications of a Swedenborgian reading of the Book of Revelation. This required us to think about the relationship of our will and our understanding. Our place in heaven is shaped by the inner union of our will and understanding. The work of regeneration brings our will and understanding into greater and greater balance, cooperation, and agreement. Read More
